Take your Bibles and turn to Revelation chapter 21. Revelation chapter 21. When you take trips to certain locations, there are certain things that you oftentimes have to be aware of that are not either readily available or places you don't really want to go. For instance, this past week, we went with some of the teens down to downtown Chicago, and we rode the train. And as we rode the train, once it gets to Blue Island, it just kind of picks up speed and goes all the way to 35th Street. And I was explaining to the people that were traveling with us, if you look off to the east, this is the area that used to be known as Robert Taylor Homes. If you know anything about Robert Taylor Homes, that was not a place that you wanted to take an excursion in, not a place that you would normally go. In fact, for many years, the police were afraid to go into certain units there, and so it was not a place that you wanted visitors going to. And at times, if you would read travel guides and what people would say is, don't go here and don't go there, and there are certain areas that are unsafe. I remember traveling. We came from where my sister was at in the Netherlands to go visit the Dodeleres in France. And we rode the train, and we came into a place called Saint-Denis. It looks like Saint-Denis, but Saint-Denis. And you came in there, and we thought, OK, this is a pretty secure area. It's a major railroad area and a station. It's the main one there for the city of Paris. And we rode in, and all of a sudden noticed that there were all sorts of houses that were built out of metal frames and the things like that, cardboard and other things, and you realize this is not a safe area. There was a reason that the dodelares came and picked us up, not wanting us to go and try and find a taxi or something like that to get around. There were certain places that, I remember traveling that, in Europe this is especially so, that you always want to make sure that you have coins on you. You know, why is that? Because you're not going to get into a bathroom. Many of the bathrooms you have to pay to use, or else there's a person there that you pay and you do that. And so there are things when we travel at times that we are always on the lookout for. Crime, places that are unsafe, customs we're not used to, things that we're used to here. You go to a foreign country, you're used to a certain kind of plugin, but if you go to a different country, there's a different kind of plugin you're gonna need to use. And so you have to be prepared for those type of things because they aren't going to have plugins that you're used to. So it is when we look at heaven, there are certain things that are described and told to us that they are not there. And in the cases of many of the things that we're going to look at, we're very thankful that some of these things aren't in heaven. What we need to understand as we also go through and that we talk about heaven, we get most of our information on what heaven is like from chapters 21 and 22 in the book of Revelation. We have very little information about what heaven is like presently. Some short descriptions, short statements and the like, but not really a physical description of what it's like exactly until we get to Revelation 21 and 22, and that is the point where we suddenly have the whole of human history coming to a conclusion. If you think about what we have in Genesis 1, 2, and 3, was a perfect environment that God created for mankind to live in, that God could come down and fellowship with human beings. That place was called Paradise. We would know it as the Garden of Eden. But God would come to this and visit and fellowship with his people. But because of Genesis chapter three, there is this issue of sin that then breaks up that fellowship. Suddenly, this paradise that's here on earth is no longer a paradise. In fact, what is left of that man is driven away from, and the cherubim guard the way back to this paradise. God removed some of the items. You say, how do you know that? Because the tree of life is no longer on earth. When you read in the book of Revelation, it's in heaven. And so there are even things that are removed from the Garden of Eden. But from that time on, the presence of God was displayed by different things. You had the tabernacle and then the temple where God came and met with his people. in a facility that was crafted by human hands and was not necessarily sufficient. People could go there in fellowship with God, though at that point there's a distance because you couldn't get into certain parts of the actual temple complex, and then you never got to go beyond the veil. Only one person got to do that on the Day of Atonement, the day that we know as Yom Kippur. the only day that you could have somebody go in there, it was the high priest to go into the presence of God. And so mankind, for thousands of years, has never really had the opportunity to truly fellowship face-to-face with God. This earth that we live on has been cursed, and so that puts a distance between us and God, and Him being able to fellowship with us truly. But you get to the end of the story, and as you read through the book of Revelation, and it's a very short account, but you go through Old Testament passages, you find that there's a thousand-year reign of Christ on earth. He comes to earth and dwells in a temple that's built by human hands and is crafted by them, and he rules from Jerusalem on earth, and for the most part, there's still the curse of sin, There is still sin on the earth, but generally it is tamped down. And you say, why is that? Because Satan is bound. And so that temptation factor in people's life is no longer there, but people still have a flesh nature that are born during that millennial kingdom. But Jesus rules and reign, and you find many Old Testament passages that talk about the abundance of things growing, and a child being 100 years of age, and all of these things, but that's talking about the millennial kingdom. And for those of us that are Christians, we'll play a part in helping the Lord rule and reign. We'll have his responsibilities, and the scripture indicates that. But that's not heaven. And what revelation does is that at the end of that millennial kingdom, that thousand-year reign of Christ, Satan is released for a short period of time, and there's going to be people who are born during the tribulation, even though they've had an opportunity to talk with Christ, they can come and speak with him and talk to him and see him and ask him questions, they're going to rebel against God. and they're going to come up against Jerusalem, where Jesus dwells, and they are going to attempt to overthrow God. One last time, then the nations will gather to try and break off God's bands, and in an instant, what will happen is this, is that this world that we know is going to cease to exist. 2 Peter 3 talks about that, that it's vaporized and destroyed. every seam and every fabric of what we know as creation will suddenly be vaporized. A fervent heat, as it's described in 2 Peter 3. You're gonna have a judgment known as the Great White Throne Judgment. And after that, all of a sudden you have this description of this new heaven and a new earth. There will be a new creation made, a physical creation that this heavenly city where God dwells is going to come and rest upon this earth. not the one that we have, but the one that's created, and it will rest upon the earth, symbolizing this, that at the end of the story, starting off in Genesis, here's God dwelling with people in paradise and talking with them, and then you have this whole history in between where God is trying to get mankind to fellowship with him, but finally in the end here, when you have sin set aside and sin judged eternally, you're going to have this new creation that's created. And the city that God dwells in is going to come and rest upon the earth. And you can read about it, and we'll talk about this later in another part of this series. But there's 12 gates to that city, and they're always open, and people can go in and out and see this creation that God has made, untainted by sin. And yet you also have this city that they can go into, a city that's 1500 miles square, that they can go and be a part of that city, but yet go out and enjoy creation as it should be, a paradise, as we might say on earth. And so what we have in Revelation 21 and 22 is talking about this time, this new heaven and new earth. that we look forward to seeing in full display what goes on there. But in the comments that are made in these passages, there are statements that describe certain things that are not there, or there's no need for them. I want us to read the first few verses of Revelation chapter 21, and it says this, John describing this, I saw a new heaven and a new earth, The first heaven and the first earth were passed away. This is what's vaporized there at the end of the millennial kingdom. And there was no more sea. And I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them and be their God. Okay, the conclusion that the Garden of Eden is suddenly here again, and God is dwelling amongst mankind in the creation that he has made. Verse four, God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. There shall Be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain, for the former things are passed away. So you go through and look at the scripture and just think about heaven. One of the things that you'll find that is not in heaven is an individual creation of God, who no longer will be a part of the events and the activities of this new heaven and this new earth. And you say, who's that? There is no devil. You say, how do you know that? Does the scripture tell us that, that he's not there? Well, it does. Because Revelation chapter 20 is talking about that timeframe with the millennial kingdom at the beginning of it, that God takes Satan and casts him into the place that is described as the abyss or the bottomless pit. and that he is there chained and not able to get out. He's not able to escape. But in verse seven, when that thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, shall go out to deceive the nations, which are the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up upon the breadth of the earth, compassed the camp of the saints about in the beloved city, and fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. And then this statement, verse 10. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are and shall be tormented day and night forever and ever. What happens to Satan is that he goes to the location that was originally made for the angels, this lake of fire. It was there designed for their judgment, Seems like it may have been designed, as far as we just look at this, before even creation may have been made. This place was set as a judgment location for the angels. Who knows exactly when it was made, but Satan is there. This is the final place where all humanity will go because when you get done with the great white throne judgment, all those that have not had faith in Jesus Christ and whose name is not found in the Lamb's book of life and are judged according to their works will hear this, depart from me, you workers of iniquity, I never knew you. And the angels will cast them into the lake of fire and there is no escape. So as you then come in to Revelation 21, this is the pre-story of what goes on, that you find out this, that there is no devil in heaven. Presently, it seems like he does have some access. You read the stories and that, and he can come into the presence of God and make statements and the like. But when we get to this point in human history and human events and everything else, the devil no longer plays a part. That's a thrilling thought. Because when you think about why things go the way they go in this world that we live in, Ephesians chapter two tells us that Satan himself is energizing the children of disobedience. He's giving energy to all that goes wrong on this earth. He is giving movement and direction. He's setting the course in the sense of the course for things that are evil, and he's attempting to destroy anything he can. The beauty of God's creation Okay, this is not even talking about the fact of human beings. He's out to destroy the beauty of God's creation. And he's out to destroy humanity in any way, shape, or form. Whether they be children of God or his own children, he's looking to destroy them. Because these are individuals who are made in the image of God. They'll be reflections of what God is like in the earth. And Satan, for 6,000 years, at least, has made every attempt to make life here on earth a misery. Satan hates you. He hates everything about you. He does not like you. And you say, well, he's not all that powerful. He is. He is the greatest created being in the universe as far as power. And he's had effect in your life, in the life of your families, the life of your country, the life of this world. He has been impacting it over and over and over again. If heaven had a top 10 like the FBI has, Satan would be the top individual that would be wanted. And what you find when we enter into the new heaven and the new earth, Satan will have no part. You say, why? Because he's going to have his own troubles. He's going to be tormented day and night. And understand this, devils are not in hell prodding and poking people with pitchforks. Those angels, those fallen angels and Satan himself are going to be tormented just as much or probably even worse than those that lived here on the earth. And so as you come into this new city and this heavenly city that has been created and a new earth is there, you have the very individual who is the one who kind of set everything in motion by saying, I will be like the most high God and was cast out of heaven. And so he went after the creation that we live in and was the one who caused and deceived the very first individuals in human history to stumble and fall away from God. That individual will be gone. If there's anything else about heaven, that will be one of the most blessed things. Never again to have this individual play a role in any of the events of our life. And so there's no devil when we get to heaven. But secondly, as you look in verse number four, we had made the statement that God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain, for the former things are passed away. And what you ought to do is connect that with a verse because there seems to be, as you go through here, just kind of statements that are repeated in chapter 21 and 22 just to remind you this is the truth and this is what's going to be the case. But you look over at Revelation chapter 22 and verse three, it says this, and there shall be no more curse. You say the curse of what? The curse of sin. Think about when mankind sinned, and Romans 5 tells us this, that when mankind sinned, death passed upon all men for all have sinned. As a result of sin, this world has been cursed. It has been cursed when we work because God put a curse upon it, and this is why in Romans chapter 8 that the world is waiting for the redemption of our body to be freed from the curse of the sin that we caused. That the world we lived in was cursed and then we ourselves were cursed. That eventually dying, we would die. That statement, thou shalt surely die, is just the idea that you're in the process of dying from the day of your birth because when you come in, you come in as a sinner. And that process of dying begins and it continues on. And so there's no curse of sin. Thus you go back to chapter 21 and verse four, that there's not the tears in this life that are as the result of sin. Sorrow, death, crying, pain. When you get to heaven, There are certain aspects of a modern city that we would expect to see that aren't going to be in heaven. You go in a major city and there's a struggle for finding cemetery space. Do you realize when you get to heaven, there's not a single cemetery? You go anywhere in this town and you can find them in little places and large ones and cemeteries. But when you get to heaven, there are no cemeteries. You go, why? Because there's no more dying. Because the individual that's there has been given a resurrection body, likened to Christ, never to die again. And so these individuals that are there are never going to pass away. And so that sorrow, that is the greatest sorrow in human life and human experience, the loss of a loved one, the loss of an individual that you know, that will no longer be a part of the experience of life. You'll never have to attend a funeral ever again. You'll never have to go to the house of mourning. You won't have to do that because in heaven, there is no, well, separation. That curse of sin is no longer there. Spent some time talking today with Don and Rain, and in the process, I said, you know, we're talking about heaven, Don's been through a lot recently, and I just said simply this, you realize in heaven, there's not a single hospital. Because the body's not breaking down anymore when you're in heaven. It never wears out, it never tires. Never needs an energy boost because things aren't working properly. No, when we get to glory, the curse of sin is gone. all the things that in your life aren't working anymore. You know, you've heard the statement, the parts that I can't feel anymore do not, oh, I just messed it up, do not work. The fact is is that one day your body will work perfectly, better than it ever did here. but there's no hospitals where people have to cry in pain and agony because of the things that they're going through and tears are shed because their body is making them embarrassed or shaming them or is just making life a misery for them. All of that is gone. The curse of sin is gone. all the things that every day taint our life, the pain in getting up out of bed and going somewhere, and then the loss that we suffer because of sin that is there, that curse is gone. Thankful I'll never have to go on another hospital run. Because the curse of sin is gone. But more so than that, it's just that there is no sin. Satan's not there. People don't have their old flesh nature, but you're in the house where God is the one who is in charge, and he makes all of the rules, and there are certain things that he cannot behold, and he cannot allow in his place of dwelling. That's sin. So there are certain things that you will not find in heaven. Revelation chapter 21 and verse 27. This statement, and there shall in no wise enter into it anything that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination or maketh a lie, but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life. You say, what's the significance of that statement? There aren't any idols in heaven. You go, why is that? Because blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall what? See God. They aren't gonna have to make a statue. They aren't going to have to make something and create something to go, my God's like this, and he kind of looks like this, and he acts like this. No, they're no longer going to, the individuals are there, you yourself are going to be there, and you're not going to have any of that nature that just kind of views God in a way that's like your sinful flesh. Because when you think about all these idols that people have created throughout the years, they've got all the failings of humanity, the sin curse. But when a person gets to glory, there's not a single idol in heaven because everyone that's there can see God. And they're not looking through a glass darkly anymore. They're seeing him face to face. So there is no idolatry going on. People aren't making up false religions, false belief systems. That sometimes can be very frustrating as you go through towns and there's a certain section of town getting and picking up pizza and then had to go a different route and realize that there was a temple in the town here I didn't even know about. And you sit here and go, there's all these places where people have crafted ideas about what God is like and they're proclaiming this, but when you get to heaven, there's not going to be any of that. It's all going to be gone. False religion is gone because God will be clearly seen by all that are there. So there's no sin like idolatry. As you look at chapter 22 and verse 15, Talks about those that are without that aren't a part of the new heaven and new earth. These are dogs, sorcerers, whoremongers, and murderers, idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie. Or you can go back to chapter 21 in verse eight. It talks about this, but the fearful, and the unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. Say, who are these sorcerers? Well, sorcerers back then were ones who communicated or attempt to communicate with devils, oftentimes with drug abuse going along with that for them to get connection with their gods. Never are you going to be faced with a drug problem that we have in so many of our cities. It's gone. No one's communicating with devils because they see the power of God on display. Don't have any whoremongers. People who are going after the lust of their own flesh. When I thought of it this way, and in my own thinking about this, there's no bad sections of that town, and there's not things that you have to avert your eyes from looking at. There aren't any billboards or television things that go on that you're just like, oh, really? I shouldn't be seeing this. It's not there. And that's kind of the frustration of this life. It's all around us. It's ubiquitous to society. It's everywhere in our society. You turn on anything now, and there's some sort of sensual appeal to you, and it's everywhere, not in heaven. Never again will your flesh be appealed to like it has been in this life. There's no murders. Now, we think of this in the physical sense. No one's going around stabbing people or shooting people, but you think about what murder truly is. What is murder? Murder is just simply me wishing for the elimination of somebody else. And I can use my tongue like a murderer would use a knife. When you get to heaven, there's no one backbiting you, no one backstabbing you, saying things behind your back, or attempting to get rid of you and eliminate you. There is no need for a police station in heaven. You'll never have to worry about blue and red flashing lights. Most of the time we see those, it's because we've done something wrong. But the fact is, is there is no police station in heaven. Because the individuals that are seeking to hurt each other are no longer there because that flesh nature is taken out of the ones that are dwelling in the city. And so there is no more of this activity going on. Nor is there one who loveth a lie, and this can be taken two ways. It can be describing an idol, which is always a lie, because it's making a false impression of God. But when you have the statement all liars in verse eight, and it indicates that you have the very thing that upsets us so much is that we're lied to, and we lie to ourselves more than we lie to anybody else. But there is no more lies in heaven. The statistic is out there that how many times do people lie every day, and the number is something like 16 times a day. When you get to heaven, never a lie heard again. There will be no broken promises, no need for guarantees or warranties. And think about that. You know, our warranties now, guaranteed for a year, five years, 10 years. But when you get to heaven, people's yea is yea and their nay is nay. They speak the truth. You go, why? Because they're reflecting the God who is the, well, the one that rules over that city. It's his house. And so you will never face the fact that you're sitting across from an individual and having conversation with them and wondering, are they lying to me? Never again. Never again, because that's not going to be found in heaven. There's no longer any of the curse that's there, no devil, no curse, and that would be heaven for many people. I mean, think about people who are living in countries where violence is what's going on right now. Heaven to them would be the absence of that. They live in a country that all they hear is lies and that, and then to live in a place where that doesn't happen, that would be heaven. Regardless of any of the other things that we will talk about as far as what is in heaven and some of the neat things that are there for us to enjoy for eternity. just to have these two items, that there's no devil who's appealing to our flesh, we don't have that flesh nature anymore, so there's no longer the curse of sin, and all the elements that go along with that, that will be heaven, because of the absence of these things. And so there is this element that these two things are the most important things that there's the absence of. I do want to, simply, before we go any further, there is the question, twice it seems to come up as you go through and look at certain things, that there seems to be no need for sun, moon, and stars. That there's no night. You read in Revelation chapter 21, verses 23 through 25, it says this, and the city had no need of sun, neither of the moon. to shine in it, for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof, and the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it, and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honor into it, and the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day, for there shall be no night there." Or chapter 22 in verse five, it just simply says this, there shall be no night there, and they shall, or excuse me, and they need, No candle, neither the light of the sun, for the Lord God giveth them light and they shall reign forever and ever. I will say this, when God creates the new heaven and the new earth, he's going to allow us to enjoy the creation that he created originally. So those passages aren't saying we don't have any more sun, moon, and stars. Read what it says. It says we don't need them anymore. You go, why? Because God is there and he is light. And it's like saying this, go outside and turn a light bulb on outside in the middle of the sun. You're going, what are you doing? It's there, but the glory of it isn't as impressive in comparison to the light of the sun. So it is that we will be able to enjoy the glories of creation. I do have, in my opinion, as far as reading the Scripture, that there are some of these planets and stars that we haven't been able to explore. You know, we spend billionaires' money to just get a few feet off the ground. But I do think that God's gonna allow us to examine these things up close and personal, this new creation. But there's no need for those sun, moon, and stars because we have the light of the glory of God as that. And you say, there's no night. Well, the idea of no night is this. What do you have to do when there is nighttime on earth? Everything shuts down. You lock everything up. There's this sense of not being safe because there's this darkness. And so what we do is we lock our cars and we lock our houses and we do this kind of thing and we don't go out at night because we're afraid of certain things. But you read the statement here where here God is the light and there's no need for a candle or there's no need for the light of the sun and moon because God is the light that we have. And the gates of the city, the gates of the city are open. You go, why? Because it's safe to go in and out at any time. Unlike the environment that we live in right now where there are certain times you don't do certain activities because there is fear for your safety. In heaven, there's never that. Because God's there and his light is there to guide us and to be with us that we can enjoy things at all times. and we aren't really gonna need to rest. I mean, I could put things in there like this. We don't need the amenities of a house. You go, why is that? Because we don't need a bathroom. We don't need a bedroom. We don't need all these things that we find so common to be part of the human necessity of life right now. But in this case, as you look at this, here you don't need light. Because God is the light and there is no need to close down the city because there is the ability to enjoy it at all times and all the time. And so there's no shut gate to those cities. The 12 gates that are there, these pearls that are massive pearls that guard the gate, never closed. And one more thing, just in discussion here, because I'm sure I will get asked this question. Revelation chapter 21 and verse one says this, and it's not in the midst of anything, it just all of a sudden says this. At the end, it says, the first heaven and the first earth were passed away, and there was no more sea. People go, what does that mean? Here we got creation, God creates a new heaven and a new earth, and there's no sea anymore? What's going on here? And I would say and suggest this is that it's not that there aren't large bodies of water anymore when God creates a new heaven and new earth. In fact, if you read what's in heaven, you've got this massive river that's flowing through the city there. Where does it go? But the statement here that there is no more sea is simply describing, well, what happened to mankind when mankind sinned? that God changed the whole face of the earth. It seems like the earth before that was perhaps one continent with water in different locations, but now you have these massive bodies of water that separate and distance people from one another. One has described it this way in talking about this. He said this, to ancient peoples, the sea was frightful and fearsome, an awesome monster, a watery grape. They had no compass to guide them in the open sea. On a cloudy day, their ships were absolutely lost without the stars or the sun to guide them. Their frail ships were at the mercy of the tempestuous oceans, fearsome, angry storms. The loss of human life in the sea was beyond calculation, so the sea represented a vast barrier for nations, continents, and people groups. What it's saying here is you're going to have an earth that's not separated by oceans and these things that frightened people to travel, to get together. No, there's a unity that goes on. I mean, when the curse came onto the earth and you suddenly had the flood where more water suddenly appeared on the earth after Noah's time, upon the earth, that there's all sorts of threats of human life from flood tides and tidal waves and tsunamis and the like. These things are a part of the activity that's there. Many scientists who are Christians believe that before the great flood of Noah's day, there was no sea, but in the flood, the bottoms of the deep were opened up, allowing the release of great bodies of water, and the world was flooded. The oceans were then formed between the overturned landmasses, and the seas became a barrier separating what we now know to be continents, further dividing the human race. On the new earth, it appears there will be no sea, because the earth will be restored to its original splendor. I think that's what it means by no more sea. It's not that we aren't going to have large bodies of water, it's just that the bodies of water aren't going to separate us from everyone else. And so I answer that question because you always get asked that, so there's no ocean, there's no water, if we have this new creation and enjoy creation the way God had originally intended, there's no bodies of water to be a part of, and the answer is that there are bodies of water, but not on the level that we have now. where it takes, well, 20 hours to fly across it. Or if you take a slow boat, it could take you months to get across. And there's a separation that has been a part of human history until modern times of technology. But the fact is, is that mankind has been separated by many of the oceans that have been here. There's no more sea that does that. So for us as we think about heaven, it's not what's going to be there that ought to bring us joy and excitement. There is some excitement that ought to be had by what's not there. And so as we struggle this week with sin, frustration because we've got to call a doctor again and we have to wait on the phone for over an hour listening to Muzak, which I think that thankfully will not be a part of heaven either. But we have to listen to that so we can get the prescription that we need. We can go, Lord, one day, I'm never gonna have to make another call to a doctor, never visit a hospital, never go to a graveside and bid farewell to someone. Because the curse of sin's broken. When you get to heaven, it's no longer got power. And it has no power because the one that dwells there is Christ who, by himself, took upon him the curse of sin, the punishment, died on a cross, so that we could one day enjoy a place and be in his presence and not have to experience any of these things ever again. And I think part of what heaven is going to be like is some of it is just us beginning to understand all that Christ did for us and has given to us. And there's going to be a lot of thanksgiving to Christ for the things that he did for us. The conversations that we have with him and talking with him, there will be this element of, I didn't understand all the things you did, but thank you for breaking the curse. That I no longer have to face those things I faced in that first earth and that old creation. Praise be to God. And so, Heaven, there's some things missing, but we're thankful that they're missing because it's just the things that make life here miserable. And so we're thankful for that. Lord, we praise you that you're a great God. that in your plan that you wanted to be with us, that one day we will be in a place that is not tainted by any of the things in this life that are just so common. Everywhere we turn, people who sin, ourselves sinning also, and we're so frustrated by it, but one day when we're in your presence, there is no curse. There's no weeping. There's no tears. No sorrow at difficulties that are caused by people that do harm us. Or even our own body that fails us. We thank you that one day we will not have to face it, and it's not because of any of our effort. It's because of what Christ did by taking the full curse on the cross. Nailing it there. so that one day we could be in a place that, for eternity, we'll never again see any elements of the curse as part of our existence. So we thank you, Lord, for the things that are absent from heaven. It makes us ever more, as we go through the difficulties of this life, pine more for being in your presence. So we love you, Lord. Thank you for what you've given to us in abundance, more than we deserve. And we praise you now and we will praise you again in your presence for all that you've given to us and all the things that you're going to take away from us forever. And we thank you and praise you for that in Christ's name, amen.